Thursday, October 30

Dandelion, Persimmon, and Medjool Date Salad

Do have any weeding to do? If so, you may want to keep the dandelion greens for your next salad. No kidding. Look at the definition of dandelion greens: edible leaves of the common dandelion collected from the wild; used in salads and in making wine.

People have eaten dandelions for centuries. The name comes from the French, who called them dent de lion, or "lion's teeth" because of their sharp, serrated leaves. In fact, all parts of the dandelion are edible, though most people prefer the leaves to the flower and the root. You can harvest dandelions in your yard, especially during the spring and fall when they're at their tastiest, but I buy mine at the supermarket.

Dandelion greens have a bitter flavor similar to chicory, endive, and escarole and are best when paired with sweet or salty foods. Try them raw in salads or cooked; they can be boiled, steamed, or lightly sauteed. Also, season them generously with salt, which reduces the bitterness.

If, like me, you like a "bite" in your salad greens, then you won't be disappointed with this Dandelion, Persimmon, and Medjool date Salad. My inspiration came from a particularly productive trip to the farmers' market on Sunday morning where I purchased crisp Fuyu persimmons and succulent Medjool dates. The sweet fruit acts as a foil to the bitter salad greens which are drizzled with a deliciously tangy vinaigrette made of honey, Dijon mustard, orange juice, and fresh rosemary.

Now, just think of all the money you'll save by not having to purchase any more weed killer.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, add the dandelions and persimmons. Pour half of the vinaigrette and toss until coated. Divide evenly among four plates. Add dates and pecans to each plate. Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette.

**Dandelion greens are available at most supermarkets as well as organic specialty markets. Bitter greens such as chicory, frisee, and endive make good substitutes.

This week Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen is celebrating her third year anniversary of Weekend Herb Blogging. In fact, it will be Kalyn's last official hosting since she is passing the torch to Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once. Thank you, Kalyn, for your time, dedication, and enthusiasm.Save This Page on Del.icio.us

41 comments:

Hi Susan,This does sound wonderful. I try hard to not get dandelions in my lawn, but I love to eat them when the come from the supermarket. The combination of persimmons and dates with the flavor of dandelion greens sounds great to me.

Please note that you do not want to eat dandelions from any yard that has been sprayed with weed killer or other noxious chemicals, so don't just go randomly plucking greens! I'm all for wildharvesting, but one has to be careful.

Another great idea Susan...can see foodies around the globba shunning weed killer & chomping on weeds! The ingredients are going further & further away from what now seems as a very limited range of fruits & veggies. This is exotic!

I wish I still lived somewhere with a yard! I wouldn't try the dandelions growing in New York! But you have reminded me that it's persimmon time! This salad looks delicious, especially with the combination of persimmons and dates. Yum!

On an unrelated note - I just found/read your recent Halloween article on NPR... and WOW do those desserts look absolutely stunning. I must make my way through those... so glad I clicked on that article - you should post those so everyone knows about them! YUM! Happy Halloween!

Dandelions are weeds here in our paddock and once they seed, they'll spread anywhere the land with the help of my kids blowing them off the stem hehehe... We have an edible dandelion here in NZ which is called puha (sonchus asper), growing anywhere in the garden. We weed them but once they are steamed and dressed with sesame seeds with the help of a little crushed garlic, WOW, the taste is just like spinach!

I saw dandelion greens at the Whole Foods Market and wondered if anyone actually ate them :) Now I know! This salad looks delicious Susan! I picked up a bunch of Fuyu persimmons,thinking I'd make salad, but we ate them all as snacks!... Don't you just love fall?

I've always been curious about dandelions and I frequently have to weed them from our garden. Unfortunately, I'll have to refrain from trying them since my dogs probably peed on them! What an exotic looking salad.

Looks wonderful! One year we did have dandelion leaves from the garden in our salad, but since then I'm afraid Nick has waged war on them and largely won the battle. The ones on the verges I'm far too scared to pick, particularly since we have ponies and goats form the nearby city farm on our verges and you have no idea WHAT'S been on those leaves :o)